War [Blu-ray]
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Movie Reviews of War [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: Decent Li/Statham Action Film May Disappoint Target Audience
Summary: 3 Stars
War stars two popular action stars - Jet Li and Jason Statham, and in any other circumstances, could easily be seen as a standout action film. But when the two leads are known for martial arts action films, and there is very little martial arts action in their movie, that's leads to second guessing and diminished returns once word gets out. It's counterproductive to put these two stars in a movie, and not have lots of fighting. That's going to disappoint most of the people who follow these stars and will watch this film.
But if you are looking for a straightforward action film, this story of a hardbitten cop after the killer of his partner and his partner's family. The killer, an assassin, seems to be playing Triad and Yakuza organizations against each other, for reasons that aren't clear until near the end of the film.
The film provides great action sequences, the leads know how to handle action, and the film has some nice plots twists. But people watching War to see a martial arts free-for-all will be disappointed.
Movie Review: Much better than I expected!
Summary: 4 Stars
Jet Li plays an assassin named Rogue. He used to be an assassin for the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) but he has betrayed them and is now working for the Triads (Chinese mafia). But why did he betray them? Jason Statham plays an FBI agent who is after Rogue because Rogue killed his former partner. I don't really want to give away the story, but I will tell you there is a twist at the end that you will never see coming. The story is well done and the directing is very slick. This is not the best of Jet Li in terms of acting, but he still gives a good performance, and Jason Statham is in top form. The soundtrack is also good.
Now, to the action scenes. If you go into this expecting something like Fearless or Kiss of the Dragon, you will be extremely disappointed. Corey Yuen (the fight choreographer) was obviously restricted and was most likely told by the director to make the fights Americanized. In the case of this movie Americanized means shorter fights and more realism than Hong Kong action. If you are a fan of Hong Kong action, you know the difference. Hong Kong is known for having lots of fight scenes with really cool flashy moves. Sometimes the fights will go on for 5 minutes, sometimes even longer, and its usually unrealistic. Do fans of Hong Kong action care that it is unrealistic? Of course not, we just like to watch good long fight scenes. Unfortunately for fans of Hong Kong action, Rogue has the Americanized type of action. Shorter fights, and heavily edited. But, while the fights have a lot of editing, it is nicely done and each shot flows together perfectly. Not only do the fights focus more on realism, but there are a lot of unique stylized touches brought to it. I have to point out that there is one fight I didn't like. It is samurai sword vs samurai sword, and the choreography is horrible. But, the final fight makes up for it. A sledgehammer is used against a shovel. Need I say more? So even though the fights are not done Hong Kong style, and there is one bad fight scene, the action is still good. Good gun fights, a good car chase, and a lot of short, intense, violent fight scenes, including a decapitation. All in all, I was happy with the action. This is not a great movie, but its exciting, and it isn't the mindless popcorn flick I was expecting.
Rating- 3.5/5
The Lionsgate DVD has plenty of special features. Director's commentary, a seperate commentary from the writers, and another seperate audio track which gives a ton of information about the movie. The 3 deleted scenes are nothing special, but there are 9 featurettes that go over all of the action scenes (just the kind of special feature I was looking for :-). It breaks down the story behind the action scene, the stunts and fights, the music, and the style they were trying to create (successfully created I should add). The best part of this is watching Corey Yuen choreograph the action scenes. Even though he is a bit restricted with what kind of action he can choreograph, he shows that he is still a genius. I went into this movie with low expectations, but I ended up liking it a lot, and the special feautures compliment the movie nicely.
Movie Review: Great Story! Fun to Watch!
Summary: 5 Stars
War was a fun time at the movies. It was just the kind of movie I expected and had a nice plot twist that I didn't. The writing made the movie so much better than other action films. Great action; especially the scenes with Jet Li and Statham together. I loved the scene where Devon Aoki makes a henchman get her a salad.Movie Review: This is not a martial arts movie.
Summary: 3 Stars
This film is not a martial arts movie. I give it between 3.5 to 4 stars because of the plot and the very good acting of Jet Li and Jason Statham. People think that Jet Li only makes martial arts movie. This is totally wrong. This is an action packed mafia movie between the Triads and the Yakuza. I would say this movie is alright to own in your library.Movie Review: War Movie Review
Summary: 2 Stars
If you're anticipating the lighthearted action and wacky characters of Statham's previous martial arts flicks, guess again. War keeps the action heavy and the violence brutal with almost no pause for comedy relief. The red flows freely throughout, creating a more extreme and intense action experience, one that actually suits Statham's demeanor more readily than the sugarcoated PG-13 of late, and the action star certainly feels at home cursing and drawing blood. Though War is relatively light on actual martial arts fighting, there are still plenty of fierce shootouts, wild car chases, and fiery explosions. The darker and more intricate storyline might lead you to believe that some real depth exists in the plot, but the seasoned genre viewer will quickly catch on to the plot holes created just to bridge one scene of action to another. But ultimately one goes to a Jet Li-versus-Jason Statham movie for anything but a poignant story, and if it's action you crave, then War delivers.
When the partner of FBI agent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) is viciously killed by the ghostly assassin known as Rogue (Jet Li), the desperate cop will stop at nothing to exact his revenge. Hunting down Rogue, Jack becomes caught up in the hitman's web of deception and betrayal as he pits the Yakuza against the Triad to start an all-out war.
While it's refreshing to see hard-hitting, blood-letting violence in a world of PG-13, dumbed-down action films, War fails to put all of its noteworthy elements to good use. Namely, Jet Li, who is a staple of adult martial arts films, is underused and underappreciated in his role as ultra-secretive assassin Rogue. Like Jackie Chan, who during his long career making American films caters toward humorous, prop-based violence, Jet Li has a specific brand of movie that fans frequent cinemas to witness. His films generally make use of plenty of blood and bone-breaking martial arts, and harsh language and nudity always seem to make an appearance. His films are of a mature action nature that most studios slink away from because of box office sales. But fans of the genre want the brutality and bloodshed, and while War undeniably includes all of the above, Jet Li doesn't get much of a chance to showcase his uncanny prowess and physical impeccability. The film is filled with far more gunfights and car chases than martial arts action, and Li shies away from no-hold-barred hand-to-hand combat.
It seems the creators chose Li only for his name, and not because fight choreographer Cory Yuen had an abundance of unequaled martial arts stunt sequences. Jason Statham likewise doesn't go toe-to-toe with Yakuza gangsters with bare fists for more than a couple of scenes. The inclusion of Devon Aoki is even unimpressive, as she too is snubbed the honors of unleashing Samurai swordplay. The cannonade of machinegun fire and explosions are duly noted, and appreciated in a non-stop action film like this, but we're always left to wonder why large-scale gun-free fight sequences aren't more readily available. Certainly no one comes to these films looking for exceptional acting or a thought-provoking story.
To fully appreciate a film like War, one must be in the right mindset. They must accept that action and violence take priority over plot, death is a necessity and can strike anyone, and the terms "good guy" and "bad guy" are almost interchangeable and rarely presented with much clarity. If ruthless violence and hard-edged action isn't your cup of tea, then this is likely a War not to get involved in. But if the phrase "Yojimbo on acid" peaks your interest (and "deep plot" doesn't) then prepare to enlist.
- Mike and Joel Massie